Ore concentrator



Patented Mar. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES om: CONCENTRATOR John McK. Ballou and Harold W. Clark, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application November 1, 1935, Serial No. 47,846

5 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for separating one ore from another and for concentrating a desired ore.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a bowl with bafiies shaped so that suitable eddy currents are created, developed, and utilized for separating different and concentrating desired ores.

Another object is to provide an adjustable turbulator.

Another object is to provide an adjustable center feed tube. V

Another object is to provide an annular channeled settling basin with an inclined bottom.

Another object is to provide simplified discharging means.

Another objeot is to provide suitable sealing means between the :operating mechanisms and feed as well as discharging parts.

Other objects will appear from the following description and appended claims as well'as from the accompanying drawing,.in which- The figure is a fragmentary vertical mid-sectional View of a rotating separating and concentrating bowl and cooperating parts designedand arranged according to the invention.

To properly separate different ores depends .on several factors, which, then, must be adjustable for the pro-per cooperation, by making the different means or parts of an apparatus involving such factors'cooperatively. adjustable.

As illustrated, the bowl I is rotatably mounted on the base 2,-the centrally fromthe bowl downwardly extending tubular member 3 being designed so that the bearings 4 support the bowl in the base.

The bowl is provided with a central discharge opening 5, normally closed by the plug 6. In communication with this opening is another tube 1, concentric with respect to the tube 3, by which matter may be discharged from the bowl.

A gear 8, securely mounted about the lower end of the bowl I, engages-operatively with another gear 9, mounted on a shaft III, that, in turn, is mounted turnably in the base 2.

Gears and all the bearings are readily kept in a complete lubricant bath by the form of the base 2 and by the particular sealing means. adopted for that purpose and incorporated in the base structure, a sealing tube l I being sealed in the cap l2 that is applied to the bottom of the base, and another sealing tube It being provided around the shaft ill, to extend sidewise from the base, whereby a lubricant can be maintained at a suitable level within the base, 7

The inner general, operative, operating, and effective contours of the bowl are preferably of spherical form near the bottom continuing in a conical form with outwardly diverging sides towards the top, these combined inner faces being provided with the ore separating and concentrat ing means of a very specific and particular form.

The bowl is mounted to be rotated at a suit able speed to create a desired centrifugal force in such a manner so that any ore placed in the bowl will show a tendency to move towards the periphery, and such movement will be of varied intensity in accordance with the specific weight of different matter in an ore.

However, inasmuch as the different matter of an ore is commonly very much intermixed it requires a thorough separation before any desired concentration should be expected.

For this reason there are not only a number of distinct annular grooves, but each groove is provided with very much distinctly functioning portions, there being ineach groove a distinctly and substantially flat catching and concentrating surface and a distinctly curved turbulence and eddycurrent creating drawing, reversing, and separating surface.

Since reliance is placed in the centrifugal force created in the bowl to act on the material placed in the bowl, a concentrating would naturally be expected from such centrifugal function to result in a concentration of the desired ore in a radial direction towards the outermost points of each of such grooves, and the concentrating portion of each groove is therefore in a form of a distinctly fiat radially disposed face or surface indicated at I 4, to facilitate and favor a concentration along these flat surfaces by centrifugal action.

For separating purposes, on the other hand, each groove is provided with a distinctly turbulence and eddy-current creating surface, indicated at 22. r I From the illustration it should be clear that material is fed into the hopper If to pass in the direction of the arrow ll downwardly, to be diverted in the bottom of the bowl in the direction of the arrow is, whereby ore passes the several grooves in its upward movement before it leaves the bowl over the top edge of the bowl.

Considering this, and the very fact that the bowl is rotated to create a suitable centrifugal force should make it clear that any ore moving radially and horizontally due to such centrifugal action, for instance in the direction of the arrow 19, must create or result in turbulence just as soon as the upwardly passing stream indicated by the arrow I8 passes the innermost edge 23 of the first projection of which there are a number to form the grooves.

Between the edge 2|] and the outermost point 2| of the next groove, the curved turbulence and eddy-current creating surface 22 is disposed.

This curved surface is designed so that the initial portion 23, next to the edge 20, practically parallels the upwardly passing stream line indicated by the arrow l8, thereby directing the incoming ore parallel along the general spherical and conical contours of the bowl, however, this portion 23 changing abruptly in an outwardly direction forming a distinct convexed drawing portion so as to subject the stream to a swiftly drawn movement due to the centrifugal force, indicated by the arrow I9, which comes to just as an abrupt halt near the bottom of the groove by a distinctly concavely formed reversing portion, being the outermost portion of the groove.

At this point, however, the curved surface 22 has a distinct upwardly curving portion 24 that creates an eddy current in the direction of the arrow 25, contrary to the centrifugal stream line indicated by the arrow l9, and it should also be realized that a smaller eddy current had been created at the meeting point between the streams I8 and I9, such smaller eddy current to follow the arrow 26, in which rolling movement the main stream practically entered the groove, to be reversed in the direction of the arrow 25, whereby a thorough disintegrating or separating of the different ingredients of the material passed through this apparatus is accomplished.

It is then only necessary to maintain a proper rotation of the bowl to create a suitable centrifugal force that will separate the desired ore so as to concentrate in the outermost corner of the groove, while new matter is kept on passing in the direction of the arrow l8 past the several grooves.

Such separation and disintegration is repeated in the several grooves by such a creation of turbulence and eddy-currents at a tempo to result in the concentration of the desired ore or of the desired ingredient of the raw ore placed in the apparatus.

In order to facilitate or intensify the turbulating action in the apparatus, considering that the steady rotation of the bowl may have a tendency of circulating the ore with the bowl, though this, nevertheless, would also result in a manner set forth above, turbulators 21 are provided in a suitable number to counteract the circulating movement of the ore, these turbulators being mounted stationary so as to interfere with the circulating movement.

When material is fed into a hopper, particularly into any conical or funnel-like top as indicated at 28, there is a tendency that the material will move in a vortex before it passes out of the narrower discharge opening of the funnel, To avoid or eliminate this, a baffle 29 is provided crosswise within the funnel.

Securely applied to the lower end of the funnel is a discharging tube 30, terminating at a point considerable above the required discharging level.

A second discharging tube 3| is telescopically disposed about the tube 30 and preferably selected of a size to fit rather snugly over the outside of the first-named tube, though quite a space is shown between these two tubes in the drawing, which should be understood to have been done merely for the sake of making it clear that these two tubes are absolutely separate and distinct tubes.

This arrangement is used to make it possible to bring the discharging end of the combined tubes to any desired low level with respect to the bottom of the bowl I, the outer tube being split, as indicated at 32, and provided with clamping means 33 by which this outer tube can be securely clamped to the inner tube so as to maintain the lower end 34 at the desired level with respect to the bottom 35 of the bowl I.

From the illustration in the drawing it will be clear that the plug 6 has been designed so that the material passed through the tubes 30 and 3| can be diverted in an evenly curved stream from its downward movement through the tubes upwardly through the bowl, as indicated by the arrow l8. The whole arangement of the feed tubes and the bowl has been designed to assure an even stream from the center over the whole inner surface of the bowl.

This adjustable feeding structure is supported by the cover 36, which is provided with an observation opening 31, by which, of course, adjustments can also be made for the extension of the feed tubes and for other purposes.

On the tube 3| is furthermore the turbulator 21 by which this turbulator can be adjusted suitably with respect to the grooves and particularly to the edges of the grooves, making it possible to raise or lower the turbulator, since the lower end of each turbulator is pivotally supported at 39 on the tube 3|.

An arm 38 extends from the tube 3| near the upper end of the tube in a sidewise direction for each of the turbulators, and the outermost ends of the arms and turbulators are adjustably held together by the bolts 40, the slots 4| and 42 making adjustments possible for different angular positions of the turbulators, so that, when the tube 3| is adjusted to a higher level, the turbulators can at the same time be adjusted to an even spacing with respect to the several edges of the several grooves, or the turbulators may be adjusted to a more fiat position, in which the lower ends of the turbulators by their pivot-connection with the tube 3| become spaced from the lower grooves according to the spacing of the lower end 34 of the tube 3| with respect to the bottom 35 of the bowl, while the upper ends of the turbulators are adjusted by means of the slots 4| and 42 and the bolts 40 to bring the upper ends of the turbulators closer to the upper grooves of the bowl than the lower ends of the turbulators are to the lower grooves of the bowl.

Since the feed is centrally downwardly into the bowl, the overflow is naturally over the top edge 43 of the bowl in the direction of the arrow 44 into a settling basin 45, surrounding the whole bowl in an annular form with a bottom in the settling basin in an incline as clearly illustrated, to facilitate a settling of matter eventually to be treated for other than the separated and concentrated matter.

The previously mentioned cover 36 rests on this settling basin thereby supporting the central feed tube and also the turbulators, the feed tube and turbulators being removable with the cover so that the bowl may be readily cleaned as soon as the cover is removed; and, when the cover is replaced, the feed tube and the turbulators regain their'proper position within the bowl automatically.

Adjustments on the feed tube as well as on the turbulator can under these conditions be made very accurately and once made can be maintained in any desired condition.

Having thus described our claim:-

1. In an ore separator and concentrator, a bowl mounted turnably, a feed means disposed through the center of the bowl with its discharging end near the bottom of the bowl, and a turbulator with one end pivotally mounted on said end of the feed means and with its upper end adjustable laterally with respect to the inner wall of the bowl.

2. In an ore separator and concentrator, a bowl mounted turnably, a settling basin surrounding the bowl, a cover for the settling basin and bowl having a funnel-like central portion with a tubular end, a tubular extension end telescopically mounted on the first-named end and extending with its discharge end to a point near the bottom of the bowl, and a turbulator pivotally mounted on said discharge end extending upwardly towards the cover and being removable from the bowl together with the cover.

3. In an ore separator and concentrator, a bowl provided with outwardly diverging sides and having annular riflles of which each is provided with a distinct concentrating face on its underside of a flat substantially horizontal form and a distinct separating face on its top-side of a substantially reversing curved form beginning at the innermost termination and edge of the riflleand therewith of its concentrating face with a convexly upwardly and outwardly curving portion and then continuing in a concavely upwardly invention, we

and outwardly curving portion and terminating in an upwardly direction against the outermost termination and edge of the concentrating face of the superjacent riffle.

4. In an ore separator and concentrator, a bowl having an inner face in cross section along a gen,- eral outline of a spherical bottom portion and outwardly diverging sides in continuation of the spherical bottom portion and provided with riffles embodying substantially flat horizontal unders ides and reversingly curved upper sides beginning with the convexed portion and ending upwardly with the concaved portion, the rifiles being of substantially even depth in the upper diverging portion and gradually increasing downwardly in the spherical portion.

5. In an ore separator and concentrator, a bowl in cross section showing a general inner face of a spherical bottom portion and a distinct outwardly diverging upper portion in continuation of the spherical bottom portion and provided with riffles of even depth in the upper diverging portion and gradually increasing in depth in the spherical bottom portion, each of the riffles having a substantially flat horizontal underside and a curved top-side, the curved top-side beginning at the innermost edge of the fiat underside in a convexly upwardly and outwardly direction and then continuing in a concavely upwardly and outwardly direction until it meets the outermost edge of the flat underside of the next following rili'le.

JOHN MoK. BALLOU. HAROLD W. CLARK. 

